David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We were unable to arrange with Italy to bring refugees here because the Italians would not allow us to carry out security checks on their territory. We tried hard but were not successful in doing that, although we wanted to.

A total of 1,486 Syrians have been housed throughout the country and are accommodated in local authority housing across 18 counties.

Overall, 1,690 Syrian, Palestinian and Iraqi refugees have been housed by local authorities and the Irish Red Cross under the programme. This figure includes Irish born children. Almost 85% of refugees who have arrived under this programme have been housed.

The Irish Red Cross is also managing an aspect of the programme to secure accommodation pledged by members of the public. This is largely being deployed to meet the needs of single persons, as few accommodation options exist within the local authority sector for this cohort. To date, the Red Cross has sourced accommodation for 96 beneficiaries in 11 counties.

The Deputy asked about integration and much focus is given to integration and helping people learn language and integrate into communities. Communities are welcoming Syrian refugees throughout the country and that is of benefit.

We also have made significant funding available. I do not have the time to go into that detail now, but I can provide it to the Deputy if he so wishes later.

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